Juyoung Kang

Juyoung Kang’s career is defined by practical progression, steady service, and leadership across different rooms with different demands. Her work spans bartending, co-founding venues, and beverage development, with current roles that reflect both execution and planning. She is head bartender at The Dorsey at The Venetian in Las Vegas and director of beverage development at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, positions that show the range between the bar shift itself and the shape of a larger program.

Temple University is part of her educational background before the industry work begins. Kang started in hospitality as a banquet server, then worked as a bartender, learning the pace of service from both sides of the room. Those early roles demanded timing, memory, and composure, and they helped build the discipline that would carry through her later career. Her bar experience expanded in Los Angeles, where she held bartender roles at The Peninsula Beverly Hills in Los Angeles and Thompson Hotel in Los Angeles.

From there, her work continued in Las Vegas through bartender positions at Comme Ça and Rose.Rabbit.Lie. Each step moved her further into a bar-centered practice while keeping service fundamentals at the core. Kang’s path also moved into ownership and venue identity. As co-founder at Park on Fremont in Downtown Las Vegas and co-founder at Commonwealth in Downtown Las Vegas, she worked on the feel and structure of the room as well as the drinks being served.

That broader responsibility led to bartender at BLVD Cocktail Co. in The Linq, Las Vegas, and then to lead bartender at Delmonico Steakhouse at The Venetian, where she held a highly visible resort role from 2015 to 2017. Today, her work at The Dorsey and Fontainebleau reflects the split between guest-facing service and program direction. Head bartender and director of beverage development describe different sides of the same discipline: one centered on the bar and the other on how a cocktail program is built and sustained.

Her career shows a consistent focus on control of layers, whether in flavor, sequence, or guest experience. Kang’s signature drinks include Sahara, Big in Japan, Tom Kha Fizz, and Good Vibrations. The names suggest a range of approaches, but they also point to a style that favors shape, contrast, and a clear finish. Her method is reinforced by her own words, including, “I built myself an internship within the job,” and “I want my drinks to have layers.”

Those statements reflect initiative and a deliberate approach to craft. Her honors include 40 Under 40 Tastemakers (2017), Bartender of the Year, and Most Imaginative Bartender of the Year (2014). Together, they point to recognition for both technical command and original thinking. Kang’s career tracks the practical range required to shape both the room and the program, moving from banquet service to bartending, then into co-founding venues and leadership at The Dorsey and Fontainebleau.